In 2025, fire departments serving Hightstown responded to 52 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 71% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
209 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $101K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 31 | — | |
| 2022 | 37 | +19.4% | |
| 2023 | 42 | +13.5% | |
| 2024 | 47 | +11.9% | |
| 2025 | 52 | +10.6% |
For the 16 building fires Hightstown departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 27 building fires investigators classified across 2021–2025. The room or location where ignition occurred — kitchens, bedrooms, exterior, vehicle areas — tells you where to focus prevention.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Outside area, other | 7 | 25.9% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 5 | 18.5% | |
| 3 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Other | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 7 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Wall assembly | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Exterior, exposed surface | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 7.4% |
NFIRS Heat Source (HEAT_SOURC) — the physical thing that started it. Spark or ember from operating equipment, an open flame, smoking materials, or hot embers from a fireplace are the leading culprits nationwide. Here's the Hightstown mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 15 | 55.6% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 3 | Match | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 3.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Hightstown departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hightstown sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 105,947 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 19,225 | 27.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 17,050 | 40.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 11,765 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11,638 | 34.7 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,284 | 31.8 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,832 | 33.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,577 | 41.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,900 | 26.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,730 | 23.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 16.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,450 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,300 | 18.7 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 08520 | 209 |
Six New Jersey cities with population within ±25% of Hightstown. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Hightstown.
A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.
Numbers reflect incidents reported by participating fire departments to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Public Data Release for calendar year 2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Per-capita comparisons use 2023 ACS population estimates. Wildland fire data complements NFIRS with NIFC and USFS perimeters. Active-fire counts come from a dated NIFC snapshot, not a live feed.